There is nothing that you can do with irons that a low powered scope won't do better. I've had more iron sights break and fail than scopes. A 1X or 2X scope is faster for quick shooting than irons as well.

Quality irons will add $200-$300 to the cost of a rifle. That, and the fact that a scope does everything better anyway is why you don't see them very often. The rifles that do still come with them are usually very low quality iron sights.

If I really wanted them I'd not select a rifle based just on the fact that it did have irons. You can have VERY good iron sights installed by a gunsmith for about the same cost as a budget scope and mounts. Buy the rifle you like, then have some quality sights put on it.